Fighting the Devil Inside
by Hailyebug
Summary: Alternate ending to episode 5X12, The Devil Inside. What if Elena had realized a better way to keep Katherine from taking her over? Evenn if it mean the loss of a life? Who will she find to help her? Will it be the one person she wishes more than anything was there with her or will someone else come to her rescue? DELENA FANS, this is for you! :)


**A/N: So this is an alternate ending to 5x12, "The Devil Inside", an alternate ending that lends itself to the hearts of Delena fans like me J If only it** **had gone more like this! But we'll see if the show can bring them back together again, once they FINALLY get Katherine out of the way!**

Elena was frantic, running through woods to the edge of the tree line, hoping to run into anybody that could help her. There was just one person she really wanted help from, but at this point she didn't know what to do and any help would suffice. As she ran she remembered what had happened just moments ago. She had awoken in the middle of what seemed to be a ritual. She saw Nadia, Katherine's daughter, standing across from her, Katherine's dead body lying there on a slab of concrete, and what appeared to be a witch chanting some strange incantation that must be a spell. Elena quickly remembered that Katherine was trying to become a permanent inhabitant in her body and tried to hide the fact that she had transitioned back into her own body's consciousness before Nadia noticed that Elena had control again.

"So um, what's happening now?" Elena asked, trying to keep that Katherine edge of incredulity to her voice while trying to conceal the fear bubbling underneath the surface of how much time she would have to intervene before something went very wrong.

"Katherine, if you want to say goodbye to Elena forever I need silence," Nadia replied. She gave Elena a quick, questionable look over and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Save your daughterly concern, I'm fine," Elena replied smoothly, trying to keep the Katherine façade up while wracking her brains anxiously in an attempt to figure out how to stop this. As she stared at Katherine's body lying there as the witch chanted her incantation over her, Nadia took her attention away, breaking her train of thought.

"You never told me where you wanted to go," Nadia asked, walking around to see better what was happening over Katherine's body.

"Where I wanted to go…" Elena asked hesitantly, trying to not let slip her lack of knowledge of this conversation Nadia had surely once had with Katherine before her supposed death.

"Once we complete the spell? Where should we start our world tour?" Elena thought on this for a moment on how to respond but the two were interrupted by the witch.

"Let me finish! Just a few seconds then it will be done," she said. Elena frantically looked from Nadia to the witch to Katherine's still body and made a split second decision. In an instant she snapped the witches' neck, and then quickly turned her attention to Nadia.

"Elena!" Nadia exclaimed as she realized she had been fooled. Before she could utter the phrase that would call Katherine fourth from Elena's subconscious, Elena was there, staking her in the gut.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you," Elena said as she dug the steak in deeper. Nadia gasped and dropped to her knees. Elena took her chance and left the tomb as quickly as she could.

Now she was stumbling through the woods. She could feel Katherine in the back of her mind, like the beginnings of a headache trying to come on. She had to focus to keep her hold on her control. If Katherine came forward now Elena wouldn't be able to find someone to help her before Nadia undoubtedly tried a second attempt to make this new Katherine arrangement permanent.

Elena could hear the sound from the party going on. She was near the Salvatore house and she knew she would be able to find someone to help her there. If she could just keep running she'd make it. Something about that spell exhausted her. Or was it the shear fear of possibly losing herself to Katherine, being lost to those she loved? It had started to affect her body before she killed the witch. She just wanted to get to someone, anyone to help her.

As she broke through the tree line, Damon was standing across the yard. She immediately took off again, calling "Damon!" to get his attention. He turned on the spot and began to run too. Seeing her running, the frantic look on her face, startled him and he wanted to get to her to see what was wrong.

They collided there in the middle of the dimly lit yard and embraced fiercely. Damon had missed her since the break up and wanted badly to make things right and Elena was scared that she wouldn't be herself for long so she wanted to explain right away what was happening so Damon could help her.

"Oh Damon, thank goodness!" She exclaimed. Her legs wobbled beneath her, knees trying to give out from the sheer panic of not knowing what to do. Damon could feel her legs giving out and they both sank down to the grass.

"Elena, what's wrong? Talk to me," Damon asked worriedly as he pushed Elena back from him far enough so that he could look into her eyes. She looked so frightened which made him worry. Usually Elena was much more composed, even when faced with difficult situations.

"Damon listen, I don't know how long I have before I'm not me again. Katherine and Nadia managed to put Katherine's spirit in my body. She's had control over me for who knows how long today. Just a minute ago I-I guess I gained back control because I had no idea how I got there but I was down in the tomb and Nadia was there with some witch and Katherine's body and she was doing this spell which apparently was supposed to make the spirit transition permanent but before she could finish I-I-I killed her and ran…" Elena's long winded explanation slowly drifted off, tears running down her face, as she realized she had killed the witch. She felt bad about having to kill her but in the moment she felt it was her only option. She took a deep breath to recover from telling her story so quickly and shakily said, "Damon she's still inside me! She's in my head, I can feel her there. I don't know how it works, how she takes over but please, be careful. I don't know how long I can stay in control."

Damon pulled Elena tightly to his chest. He was so glad to have her in his arms, feeling she was no safer anywhere else. He was rubbing her back to comfort her, reaching up to her face to wipe away her tears.

"Don't worry, Elena. I'll keep you safe. Katherine may think she can fool me but now that I have the heads up she won't be able to surprise me. Maybe without the spell being complete there's a way we can get her out of your body and where she belongs, in Hell. But I promise you," he said as he laid a hand on either side of her face and turned her gaze to his, thumbs still wiping the remains of the tears that had fallen, "I won't let her have you. You are mine and I'm not letting her take the best thing that's ever happened to me. I know you must have seen all those calls and messages. They were all me. I just wanted to make things right. I-I screwed up. I bailed because I was convinced I'd ruin you. You're literally the best person I have ever known and for me to think that I could change you gives me way too much credit and you not nearly enough. You are the best influence on me. I need you. You are the good, and I need a lot of good in my life 'cause without it there's an awful lot of darkness."

Elena smiled, tears welling up in her eyes again, different tears though. This is what she had hoped all along. She hoped that Damon would be able to see that he wasn't going to change her and that no matter who he was, she was still going to be who she wanted to be. And who she wanted to be all revolved around having Damon there with her, right where she wanted him. "Damon, I love you. I've loved you for a long time and to know that I make you a better person only makes me love you that much more. I'm here. I'm yours, as long as you want me."

Damon's smile beamed in the dim moonlight as he hugged Elena tight to him once again, finally content that he had her back and everything seemed right in that part of their world. He immediately pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist to support her. She still seemed weak. "Come on Elena, lets' get back to the house. Nadia is sure to come find you and I want to be ready for her when she does. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said as she stood more solid on her feet. She was feeling much better now that she had found not just someone, but the one person she needed most to help her. "Lets' get back; I'm not letting Katherine take me without a fight."

**A/N: What do you think? As an avid Delena supporter I would have much rather seen that episode end this way. I'm still rooting for them even though everything seems to be getting in the way! Thanks for reading!**


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